Can't Run Away
by Sayuna
Summary: Hey! This is my own Mystery Skulls fanfiction! I felt extremely inspired after watching the video, and decided to write my own continuation of it! I hope you like it! Please send me a review when you get the chance! I'd love to hear your opinions! P.S. I'm always looking for typos, so if you see any, help me out. Tell me if you approve or disapprove please!
1. Chapter 1: Fear

What was he going to do now? Arthur kept his hands on the wheel, and wearily looked into the mirror as the house started to fade. He knew better than to go into a suspicious looking house, especially one that sparked Vivi's interest, but this had to be the biggest mistake he's made in a very long time. Well, second biggest. His heart seemed to fill with dread as the memories played through his skull, and he could feel the color draining from his face. What was he going to do? Also, what was going to become of Lewis now? Despite the house vanishing, somewhere deep inside of Arthur's heart, he felt sure that this was only the beginning.

He looked over his shoulder to see Vivi in the back seat, her eyes shining brightly as she watched the mansion fade completely. "I can't believe it's gone…" her voice trailed softly as he heard her turn around.

"Why did you pull me out of there? That ghost was trying to communicate with me!" Here came the questions. He wasn't really ready to answer them, so he swallowed a couple of times and gripped the steering wheel harder.

"Weren't you paying any attention Vivi?" He asked, his voice cracking, "That thing tried to kill me!" He could hear the lie in his voice, but Vivi was too preoccupied with her own thoughts to notice.

"Well, he didn't try to kill me!" She argued, leaning over the back seat so she could shout into his ear. "He was trying to TALK to me!"

"Well what if I was scared Vivi?" He responded, a little too defensively. Yet another mistake on his part, but Vivi caught onto it this time.

"Arthur, you're acting weird." She stated honestly. It was amazing how honest she could be, no matter how much it could hurt him. He was jealous of her in that aspect, but only a little.

"I was just scared," He said slowly, letting his feeling pour into each word so that she would forgive him. She made a face, but soon cracked a smile. It was this same smile he had been so used to growing up. It seemed to melt his heart, but he knew he couldn't let himself falter anymore. He wanted to spare that precious heart of hers.

"You've always been such a scaredy cat," She said through gentle laughter. "Well, it can't be helped. Let's go to my house tonight. I'll made dinner." Arthur had to hide a sigh of relief, since Vivi had dropped the subject on her own. Wait…maybe that was a bad sign. Arthur pondered it for a moment, but he knew pressing the issue would end badly on his part. She'd trapped him once again, true to nature. Arthur managed a weak smile.

"If you can make spaghetti tonight, then I'm game," He replied. He tried to put back the playfulness in his voice, but it seemed useless. After seeing Lewis tonight, he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep. Lewis had never found peace, but was instead haunting the woods close to their home. He could still remember he had first met Lewis back in high school. Things were so much different back then.

_Arthur walked through the high school hallway, cowering slightly as he came closer to his locker. He never liked high school, especially since he was so much smaller than the other guys in his grade. This made Arthur the prime target for bullying. Arthur opened his locker and shifted his books to put them away, when his locker was suddenly slammed shut. He looked to the side to see a senior towering over him. The senior was one that he recognized from class. He had been forced to take the same math class for a third time, and he never liked Arthur. Arthur was supposed to be a sophomore, but he was very smart. He jumped a grade and was considered a junior. He thought it would help him make friends, but it seemed to have the opposite effect._

_The student sneered angrily at him._

_"__Where's my homework assignment?" He demanded loudly. Arthur was startled, and started to tremble at the towering teen's presence._

_"__D-Didn't you do it last night?" He asked barely above a whisper. The brute didn't like that comment, and punched the locker pretty close to Arthur's head._

_"__I want it done before class today," He said sharply. It wasn't a request, but a demand._

_"__I-I can't d-do your work f-for you…" Arthur said sheepishly, "Th-That would be…cheating…" No sooner had the words escaped Arthur's lips that his collar was grabbed. He felt himself get raised off the ground and pressed against the locker. Arthur's entire body trembled as the student glared at him furiously._

_"__I don't care what that would be!" He said on the brink of shouting, "I said to do it!" Arthur had problem breathing in that position, and he flailed a little. Where was everyone? Why were the halls empty? Why wouldn't someone help him? In his panic, Arthur accidentally kicked the guy in the stomach, and he retaliated by dropping Arthur on the ground. Arthur took the chance to run as fast as his legs could carry him. It wasn't hard for him to run fast, with his somewhat aerodynamic frame, but he seemed to run even faster when he was panicking. He heard some shouting and turned his head to see two other guys join the first. They gave chase._

_Arthur turned a corner and ran, refusing to look over his shoulder again. He turned left, then right, then left again. Normally, Arthur was good at navigating the school, but this time all the hallways looked the same. The shouting became distant and he turned right again. Arthur immediately slammed into someone who was rounding the corner. He was almost a whole foot taller than him, at least 6'2", and he was solid. He had unnaturally purple colored hair that hid his eyes, and slightly tanned skin. He wore a white button up shirt with a purple vest over it, matching purple pants and shoes, and he even wore a tie that was only a little lighter than his vest. Arthur bounced off of him and landed on his backside, a little dazed, but he quickly recovered and scrambled to his feet._

_"__I-I'm sorry!" He said sheepishly before taking off again. The last thing he needed was to have a fourth person chasing after him, so Arthur chose to run before it got any worse. Arthur heard the voices getting louder, so he turned sharply and dived into the locker room. He found an empty locker and used his small size as an advantage, slipping inside and closing it. He covered his mouth and tried to calm his breathing, making himself quiet as he heard someone enter the room. Arthur could feel his body tremble as the figure walked down the first aisle, then came to the one next to his. He considered running, but he knew he wouldn't be able to outrun them anymore. The figure came slowly into his aisle, and he could see the original bully from the holes in the locker. He looked underneath the bench and came close to his locker, but only appeared to look over it. With an angry sigh, the bully left the locker room, and Arthur was left alone. He didn't dare move from his hiding place until after the next bell rang. With students starting to flood the hallways, Arthur carefully came out of hiding and slipped into the group without being seen. He hid away the pain he felt and started heading back to his locker, when a figure seemed to catch his eye. It was the guy he ran into earlier. He was leaning against a nearby wall with a scowl on his face and his arms crossed. His hair hid his eyes, but Arthur felt like he was being stared at. Had he seen him come from the locker room? Arthur swallowed softly and focused his attention to the floor. He probably thought that Arthur was a coward, and he would be right._

Arthur had to slam on his breaks to keep from hitting the car in front of him. He'd let his mind drift to old memories, ones he had thought were forgotten, and now he was going to hear from Vivi. He looked over to see the blue haired girl's face red, as if she was embarrassed.

"Arthur! You idiot!" She shouted at him. There it was, the closest this girl had even come to cursing, and she was using it against him. "I swear! Watch the road! You're going to get us killed driving like that! Why do I even let you drive?"

"Because you can't reach the petals in this old van, and you hate driving." Arthur retorted almost instinctively. It was something he remembered Lewis saying, but why he'd let it slip, he didn't know. Vivi pouted at him, reminding him of her when she was little. She always did that when she didn't have anything to respond with. "Now now Vivi, don't be that way. I'm only telling the truth." He felt a small pang of guilt strike his heart, once again realizing what he'd set himself up for. Was this her plan from the beginning? He glanced over at Vivi, finding the girl with her arms crossed, still pouting at him. She wasn't going to say anything. Arthur realized he was just being paranoid, but this wasn't good. If he kept acting like this, he would say something wrong. The last thing he ever wanted was to hurt her feelings. "Actually, tonight I'm going to pass up on dinner. I'm exhausted!" He heard Vivi shift into the backseat, and he could see her pressing against her seat and feeling for the seat belt.

"There's a cop there Arthur," She mumbled softly as the seat belt clicked. She was just as childish as ever.

"Vivi, the cop already has someone pulled over," He said casually, "There's no way he would stop what's he's doing just to give me a seatbelt ticket for you." He smiled softly as he glanced at her small figure in the mirror. She was childish in how she acted, but she was definitely not a child. She was petite, and her favorite blue outfit suited her very well. It hugged her curves perfectly, but at the same time was conservative enough to leave some details for the imagination. Her eyes glistened with wonder through her thick glasses. Poor thing never had good vision, but that never stopped her from being curious. Her curiosity was more powerful than any fear, assuming she ever felt fear. Arthur was curious too, but his body cowered at the faintest signs of danger. He was a coward in every sense. He couldn't even tell her how he felt about her.

It wasn't his right to be with her anyway.

The thought came to his mind and his heart ached. It seemed to take too long to reach her house, and the cheerful girl waved good-bye from her front porch.

"You better be here on time tomorrow Arthur! If I have to come to your house and wake you up again, I'm using cold water to do it!" The threat was real, even if it came from someone who sounded like they were half their age. She slipped into her house, and on queue he turned on the van and drove home. He parked the van outside of his house and let Mystery out of the car. He locked the van and started to walk inside, when he noticed something weird.

His front door was wide open.

His house looked like it had been ransacked. The drawers were pulled out, his possessions were everywhere, and several pictures had been broken. He couldn't help but stare around in shock; the silence being filled with Mystery's low growl. He could sense the strange presence, and didn't like it one bit. Arthur carefully walked pass his upturned table, to where several of his pictures were tossed into a pile. He picked up the very first one, and examined the broken class. It looked like someone had solely punched at his face, shattering the glass completely. Whoever had done this was very angry, and very powerful. Slowly, Arthur turned to look into his kitchen, and his eyes came to rest on the far wall. He blinked twice, trying to process what it was he saw.

You have three days left.

Arthur's body started to tremble. How could he have found him so quickly? The answer was simple, Arthur had never moved. Arthur examined the wall nervously. The letters were burned into his wall, and they looked as if they were smeared by an opened hand. Arthur knew what had caused this. He knew that Lewis had burned them into his wall, and he knew that Lewis never made idol threats. He slowly backed out of the room and locked the door, then got into the van and drove it to a nearby motel.

He rented a room for the night and walked upstairs. Maybe if he didn't stay home, Lewis wouldn't be able to find him. Arthur sat in the bed and stared around the nearly empty motel room. When you came into the room, the bed was on your left, pressed against the nearest corner. Right next to it was a night stand with a lamp and an alarm clock on it. On the right, there was a dresser in front of the only window, with a vase full of fresh roses on the middle of it. Next to the dresser was a small table with a coffee maker, some foam cups, and a few candles. Across the room was the door that he assumed led into the bathroom. He started to lay down when he thought he thought saw something move. Did the vase move? It was on the side of the dresser now, closer to him. Arthur jumped out of bed and looked around the room frantically, looking for something, anything to appear. The room stayed in complete silence for a long time, and the only thing Arthur could hear was his own heartbeat.

Arthur slowly moved against the wall, giving his heart a chance to calm down. He slowly leaned back and looked over at his arm. If he was going to sleep at all, he needed to remove that arm. The metal was heavy and uncomfortable to sleep with, so every night he took it off. "Mystery, go get the screw driver." He instructed the dog, who immediately jumped off the bed and ran to get it. Arthur was a genius in robotics, so constructing his mechanical arm was a simple task, but there was no light, strong metal that he could afford. When the dog returned, Arthur took the time to take off the metallic arm, being careful not to trigger any of the sensitive nerve endings in his shoulder. He laid the arm down on the side table, and left the screwdriver beside it. He looked around slowly, examining the room once again, before laying down.

He slowly wrapped his flesh arm around Mystery and found some comfort in his presence. He looked over to Mystery, whose ears had fallen back against his head. "Don't be upset Mystery," Arthur tried to say softly, but his voice cracked again.

Who was he fooling? Arthur started to shake almost violently, and he looked around the room in paranoia, waiting for the apparition to make its presence known. There was nothing but silence in his room. The deafening silence that made Arthur even more afraid. In any horror movie, he could hear the main protagonist mutter, 'It's quiet… Too quiet…' just before a horrible figure came out of the dark. Arthur held onto Mystery gently for several long hours, before he finally managed to fall asleep.

_Since the day Arthur ran into the purple haired guy, he saw him almost everywhere. He was in almost all of his classes, and they only sat a few tables apart. He sat all by himself, since everyone seemed too intimidated by his size to walk up to him. Arthur understood this fear, as he was intimidated by the big guy too. He'd never spoken to him once, though on occasion, he did catch him staring at him from across the hall. Was he angry at Arthur for running into him? He didn't know, but he was too afraid to ask too. Arthur glanced over at the silent giant, but he was started by a loud voice shouting in his ear._

_ "__What're you looking at Arthur?!" Vivi asked him loudly as she sat down with her lunch. Arthur's face paled a little when he looked at her._

_ "__I wasn't looking at anything," He mumbled softly. Vivi could tell immediately that it was a lie, so she leaned over and looked where she thought he had been looking._

_ "__Were you wanting to talk to the new guy?" Vivi asked him. Arthur jolted a little. "I'll go ask him to sit with us then!" Before Arthur could protest, Vivi leapt out of her chair and walked over to the stranger. She seemed completely immune to the eerie presence he had around him. That's how Vivi was though. She was the first one to welcome Arthur when he jumped a grade and entered her class in 3__rd__ grade, and they've been friends ever since. Vivi was an amazing social butterfly, her calm and innocent demeanor melting away the disgruntled feelings of whoever she talked to instantly. Something about her made everyone happier. It's what he loved the most about that girl. Vivi tapped on the new guy's shoulder and smiled politely._

_ "__Hello there," She said softly, "My name is Vivi. We're in a lot of classes together. My friend and I were wondering if you wanted to sit with us today." Vivi gestured over to where I was now sitting alone, and the new guy followed her gesture. He looked at me for a moment, then looked back to Vivi. He spoke so softly that I couldn't hear him at all. He then stood up and followed Vivi back to our table. Vivi sat down in front of Arthur, while the new guy sat down next to Arthur. Arthur noticed how the bench seemed to bounce a little when the new guy sat down, and he felt even more nervous. Was Vivi crazy? She looked over to the giant and smiled, then gestured to Arthur._

_ "__This is Arthur," She said happily introducing him, "He's a super genius, so he skipped a year in elementary, but since he's so small, he gets picked on a lot." Arthur's face flushed a little as he waved his arms at her._

_ "__V-Vivi! Don't say that!" He cried softly. Vivi only smiled and gestured to the new kid._

_ "__Arthur, this is Lewis," She said softly. Lewis looked down at him for a moment, scowling at him. "Arthur…" Vivi prompted. Arthur was nervous, but Vivi would never let him live it down if he didn't do something. Arthur looked up at the big guy slowly and smiled sheepishly._

_ "__H-Hi Lewis," He said softly, "It's nice to meet you." Lewis continued to stare at him for a few minutes, but then a gentle smile came across his lips._

_ "__Hi Arthur," He said softly. It surprised Arthur, how shy this giant actually was, but it also calmed his nerves down a little. "It's nice to meet you. Hopefully, we can be friends." Lewis outstretched his large hand to Arthur. Arthur extended out his left hand to take it, but suddenly everything became dark._

_And Lewis fell, his face full of surprise and betrayal, towards the rocks far down below._

Arthur jolted straight up in bed, sweating profusely as he tried to shake away that dream. It was the last thing he wanted to think about. Arthur panted softly and looked about the room, wondering if someone was watching him. He didn't see anything, and after the long silence dragged on, he started to lay back down to get some more sleep. The moment his head touched the pillow though, he heard a crash on the other side of the room. Arthur leapt out of bed and turned on the light switch. He saw a broken vase across the room, one that had been safely in the middle of a dresser. Arthur's body began to shake.

A candle suddenly lit itself, glowing a dark shade of purple that looked unnatural. Arthur jumped back a little and slammed the exposed stump against the wall. He slowly slid down to his knees and panted loudly, the pain in his arm being overwhelming. He used his good arm to feel the stump, and found that he was bleeding. Arthur managed to get back on his feet and walked into the bathroom, leaving the door wide open. The bathroom was pretty standard. On the right was a shower, on the left was the toilet, and in the middle was the sink, with a large mirror over it. He found a few towels under the sink and used one of them to try and stop the bleeding. He used the mirror to look at the wound, and he noticed his own reflection.

Arthur knew he was scrawny, but he didn't think he was that pale. His blonde hair was a mess, seeming to spike up a little on one side, and his goatee was squished. His eyes were a little bloodshot. He looked like the poster child for insomnia, and he felt like it too. If Vivi saw him like this, she'd probably throw a fit. Arthur carefully tied the towel around his stump, hiding the scarred flesh from view, and he began to leave the bathroom. Suddenly the door slammed shut, and he was left in the dark. He started to scramble for the door, when he saw his own reflection in the mirror again. In the dark lighting, he thought he saw himself with dark green skin, and his wide eyes looked crazed. In an instant, he remembered those last few moments of Lewis's life, and now he was staring at the culprit.

He screamed at the top of his lungs.

Vivi forced the motel room door open and barged into the room, then quickly pulled open the bathroom door. She saw that Arthur looked pale, and his eyes were blood shot. She was dressed in blue pajamas with pink polka dots, and her headband was messily pushed into her hair. She ran straight up to Arthur and took his flesh hand.

"I came over to your house and you didn't answer the door! Just as I start to try to break in, Mystery jump on me and leads me here! Then I walk in and catch you screaming from the bathroom?! What is wrong with you?!" Vivi's words came out very quickly, and Arthur barely had a chance to process one after the next. After a brief moment of silence, he managed to answer.

"I screamed because I forgot to turn on the light, so when I came in here, the darkness and the mirror startled me." He laughed anxiously, hoping she'd take think of it as embarrassment. "A-And I'm here because I accidentally locked myself out. I decided to stay here and break into my house tomorrow. You don't need to worry so much V, I would've called you if something was really wrong." He didn't want to hurt her, but every lie felt like it weighed down heavily in his chest. He noticed the purple flame get larger, and took this chance to usher Vivi out of the room while he had her attention. "Listen V, I'm fine."

"You don't seem fine!" She shouted loudly. Just then, something donned on him.

"Wait a sec V," He said carefully, "Why are you here in the middle of the night anyway?" Vivi blushed a little and slowly glanced behind her. Arthur saw Mystery by the door, his head slightly lowered in shame. When did he even have the time to do that? Arthur looked back to Vivi as she stepped closer to him.

"Don't you scare me like that ever again!" She shouted loudly, flailing her arms a bit.

"I won't V," Arthur said softly, lying through his teeth. "Mystery, go take Vivi home. She won't be ready for our adventure tomorrow if she doesn't get to sleep, but I don't want her going home alone." Mystery whined at him softly, but obeyed his master like he was supposed to. Vivi turned to Arthur one last time and stared at him, trying to figure out what was going through his head, but she gave in.

"Alright Arthur," She said softly, "But don't you be late tomorrow, or I swear I'll hurt you." She smiled faintly and started walking home with Mystery, the dog occasionally looking back at him with worried eyes. Arthur watched them go until they finally disappeared from his sight, and slowly walked back into his room. Now exhausted all over again, Arthur laid down and fell into yet another fitful slumber.

_Lewis was a pretty cool guy. He was shy at first, but after a few weeks of them hanging out together, he became the best conversationalist. He was strong enough to lift Arthur and Vivi over his head, but he was gentle enough to be loved by animals. He was into mysteries and the paranormal. He and Vivi could talk for hours about the stories that had read and the places they wanted to go. Arthur liked hanging around them, but he never felt like he could truly depend on Lewis. It felt like he was only there for Vivi. Arthur felt a little left out, but seeing them happy made him smile._

_One day, Arthur overheard Lewis ask Vivi out on a date. He was leaning against the wall, and Vivi was standing by her locker. Arthur didn't mean to overhear it, but it immediately infuriated him. He was already jealous of him for being taller, stronger, and for having more in common with her, but now he was going to take her away completely. He got angry. "HOW DARE YOU!?" He shouted loudly at Lewis, who was caught completely off guard._

_ "__Arthur, are you alright?" he asked, but Arthur ignored him._

_ "__You THINK you're SO clever!" Arthur shouted at him, pointing his finger at the larger man. "You NEVER wanted anything to do with ME! All you EVER wanted was to take her AWAY from ME!" Arthur's hands started to shake. He knew they didn't need him, that he was just a third wheel when he was with them. He knew they could do anything without him. He was afraid of losing the only thing he ever had in his life. He was very afraid of losing the only person he ever loved. "I HATE YOU!" Arthur shouted from the top of his lungs. He was about to say something else, when a swift hand slapped his cheek harshly, knocking him back a little._

_Vivi was crying, with her hand glowing red._

_ "__You're such an idiot!" She shrieked loudly at him. She cried softly and hugged Lewis's arm for comfort. He looked up at Arthur like he was a disease, and the two of them walked away from him._

_Arthur deserved to be alone._


	2. Chapter 2: Pain

Lewis floated aimlessly about the room, occasionally glancing at the sleeping Arthur, but finding himself getting angrier every time. He had given him three days, so he could run or even confess to Vivi, but he didn't. Instead, Arthur was actually sleeping. It infuriated Lewis to no end. HOW DARE HE? Lewis floated over to where Arthur was laying, and reached his hand towards Arthur's throat. It was scrawny and covered in sweat. He let his hand hover over the flesh, hate filling his eyes, when a thought came across his head. Would Arthur know his killer like this? Probably not. He wouldn't be nearly afraid enough. That wasn't good enough.

He wanted Arthur to suffer until he wanted death first.

Lewis raised his hand back away from Arthur, glaring as the trembling boy turned back over in his bed. He'd always been the smaller of the two. Arthur had no real physical strength, but he was a smart kid. He jumped a year in high school if he recalled right. That's why he graduated at the same time as him.

And Vivi.

The memory of her name brought a gentle ache to his heart. He looked down at the locket, which had turned a faint grey color. He traced his finger along the cracks and floated out of the bedroom. He drifted quickly towards the young woman's house, slipping into her bedroom with ease. As he suspected, he found the little blue haired angel at her computer desk. She had traded out her blue sweater and skirt for a blue night gown with pink polka dots. Her headband was aimlessly tossed aside, and she had adjusted her glasses all the way back to the bridge of her nose. The little girl was leaning forward as far as she could in her seat, typing furiously into the computer as her eyes darted across the screen quickly. He recognized this look. Vivi was researching, but what he couldn't tell. He inched forward and carefully looked over her shoulder, careful not to let any part of him touch her.

"This is so annoying!" She shouted as she threw her hands into the air. Lewis barely dodged her hands, but he was able to see what she had been looking at. An article about amnesia glowed on her screen. She had scrolled down the page and found the sections on symptoms and cures, which didn't include any information that she could use. At least, that's what he figured by the way she groaned. "How am I supposed to solve this mystery if I can't do anything about this?" With a heavy groan, Vivi turned away from the computer and dove onto her bed. Lewis watched as she flailed around aimlessly for a few minutes, before laying still and staring at the ceiling.

Lewis wanted nothing more than to reach out to her and encourage her, but one look at his own hands deterred that. How would she react to him like this? Would she be afraid? The last thing he wanted was to make her cry, and his presence could cause that. Lewis sighed softly. He wanted nothing more to wrap his arms around her and hold her close like he used to. That's all he wanted, but now he would never be able to do it.

It was all Arthur's fault.

His anger grew as this thought came across his mind, and his fists clenched slowly. He was going to make Arthur pay for what he had done. It's all his fault. If Arthur didn't exist, he wouldn't be a ghost. If only Arthur didn't exist, but that would come soon enough.

Arthur opened his eyes when the alarm went off. He didn't feel like he'd slept a wink, but he had a promise to keep. He reached for his mechanical arm where it laid, and when he couldn't feel it, he leaned forward. He kept leaning and leaning until he finally fell out of bed. Half dazed, Arthur stood up and scooped up the arm. He easily placed it back on and got dressed for the day. Almost sluggishly, he walked out to the van and got in, buckling up before turning it on. Arthur noticed that the heat came on, but it was extremely hot in the van already, so he tried to turn it off.

"The electric must be acting up," He said groggily. He leaned over to turn the crank and roll down his window, but it wouldn't budge. "What else could go wrong," He commented loudly, "I hope it doesn't break down while Vivi's in here." Arthur took off his vest as he started to drive off, hoping to be able to outlast the heat. Halfway to Vivi's house, however, he lost this battle. Arthur parked the van on the side of the road and opened the door, throwing up the remaining bits of lunch from the day before. Arthur leaned back a little in his seat and sighed softly. "This is worse than when I was bullied," He mumbled softly, "Back then, I knew who it was… Now… Now it feels like the entire universe is conspiring against me."

No sooner had the words left his lips that a loud laugh rang throughout the inside of the van. Arthur went pale and took off running as fast as he could. It was Lewis. He knew it for sure now. It was Lewis. Lewis was coming to kill him. That threat wasn't just a prank. It wasn't just a threat. It was a promise. Arthur ran as fast as he could into the woods, knowing that he could make it to Vivi's house in no time with this short cut. He ran and ran, until an invisible force tripped him.

Arthur tumbled downhill a long ways, until he finally fell into a bush and stopped. He felt a sharp pain in his left shoulder, glancing over to see the metallic arm was knocked loose from its bearings. This meant that all the weight of the metal was pulling at his bare nerves. Arthur felt the blood start to pour down his arm. He then managed to get to his feet and ran until he was on Vivi's porch. He used his good arm to pound away at the door. Vivi came to it and covered her mouth when she saw him.

"OH GOD!" She shrieked loudly at him. Arthur looked at her with some dismay, but his eyes somehow wandered to the clock behind her. It was exactly 9 o'clock. Arthur looked at Vivi, watching her lips move, but somehow unable to hear her speak. He let a faint smile cross his lips as the world went black.

"I'm on time V."

_His problems around school hadn't stopped. The same bully liked to push him in the halls, trip him when he had the chance, and make him late for class several times. His bullying seemed to get worse by the day, and after a few weeks, Arthur started having trouble hiding the bruises. His shirt covered most of them, but he had to start wearing a vest to zip up and hide the ones that showed a little over his shirt's collar. Arthur could handle it though. He'd been bullied his entire life, so he could handle it._

_Until that day._

_Arthur was stopped after class by his locker. The brute had two of his pals with him, and his smile seemed unnatural. His friends took one of each of Arthur's arms, and lifted him off the ground. The bully popped his knuckles and looked at Arthur menacingly, seeming to take joy in seeing Arthur tremble._

_ "__Where's my homework?" He asked sharply._

_ "__Did you not do it?" Arthur asked him meekly, but this response was met with a punch to the stomach._

_ "__I asked where it was," He asked again._

_ "__I didn-," Arthur started to reply when he was met by another fist. There was no one in the hallway once again. Where were they when he needed them? The two holding him took him to the ground and started punching him too. All Arthur could do was cower and cover his face. After what felt like a million years, they stopped. The bully leaned down and grabbed Arthur by his chin, roughly pulling on his goatee to make him look at him._

_ "__Where is my homework?" He asked again. Was this supposed to be his fate? Was he always going to get beat on by those bigger than him? Was that the only reason he existed? To be someone else's punching bag? Arthur wasn't brave, but he was smart. He slowly adjust himself, and when the bully smiled again, Arthur sent the hardest punch he could muster into his mouth. The bully dropped him, and Arthur took the chance to do what he did best. He ran. He ran as fast as his legs would carry him and turned a corner. He turned left, then right, then left again. He kept sprinting until he saw the exit in front of him, but just as he neared it, one of the boys came out from behind a corner. He punched Arthur in the face._

_Arthur could feel his nose break from the punch, and he collapsed. He could hear laughing as the other two joined the first, and they grabbed him by his arms. They then started dragging him to the right. What could they want to do now? Arthur managed to look up in time to see a locker wide open in front of him. He tried to resist, but six strong hands forced him inside and closed the door behind him. He heard a laugh as a lock clicked. Arthur started to tremble violently, and he slammed his hands against the locker door._

_ "__Wait! Don't leave me in here!" He shouted desperately as he heard the laughter die away._

_ "__Don't worry Arthur," he heard the bully say in a haughty voice, "Someone will come for you." Arthur banged on the door harder as he heard the voice drop into a low, vicious growl. "You know, when we have school on Monday." Arthur screamed._

Arthur collapsed almost the instant she opened her door. He said he was on time, but he looked like he was about to die. She called 9-1-1 and sat next to him on the porch. She slowly pulled his head into her lap and ran her fingers through his hair. Her best friend in the entire world fidgeted, having a nightmare that made some of their ghost hunts seem boring. All she could do was wait.

Standing nearby, though she was completely unaware of it, was Lewis. He had taken a lot of pleasure for making Arthur hurt so much, but the desperate look on Vivi's face broke his heart. He let his anger fuel his actions, instead of his love for her. He watched her cry and wanted dearly to call out to her, to tell her everything was okay, but that wasn't going to work here. She didn't remember him. She didn't have a clue who he was or how much she had meant to him. All she had was Mystery and the murderer.

Lewis felt guilt and sorrow attack his heart, and black tears flooded his eye sockets. She looked like she loved him. The way she held his head and ran her fingers through Arthur's hair made his heart break. He held the locket in his hand and squeezed it harshly, making more cracks form to match his breaking heart, and then he dropped it on the edge of her porch. He felt like scum for making Vivi cry, but his hatred for Arthur was still there. He could never again be what she needed. Lewis turned away and started floating back to his mansion, thinking the empty halls and rooms would be fitting, since they matched his heart.

Vivi watched in disbelief as the ambulance loaded Arthur onto the gurney and took him away. Her eyes were filled with tears, and she could no longer think straight. What had happened to Arthur? Was he in an accident? Was he chased? How did he get hurt so badly? She stayed on the porch for a long time and could nothing but cry. Her heart ached so badly, seeing over and over again the image of his pain filled face.

When she finally regained her senses, she noticed a little locket on the edge of her porch. It was badly cracked, and a faint grey color, but it was still in one piece. Vivi curiously picked up the locked and felt the scratches. She then heard it click. She watched in awe as the locket opened up and showed a picture of her, wrapped in the arms of a loving guy with purple hair. He was smiling. Who was he? Who was he to her?

That's when memories started flooding into her head. The shy giant who came to her school during her junior year, who had become her and Arthur's friend, the owner of the van, and also the ghost who chased them through the haunted mansion. She remembered everything about him, how animals loved him, how he could lift her over his head, how he and her had long conversations about mystery novels. She remembered forming the Mystery Skulls with him, and going on several adventures. She remembered an eerie looking cave that had two tunnels going in different directions. She remember going down the right one with Mystery, while he and Arthur went up the left one.

Then her memories stopped.

What happened next? Vivi couldn't help but wonder, but she figured it wasn't good if he was a ghost. She got up off her butt and closed the locket, then she it gently around her neck. This was a mystery that had been right under her nose the entire time, and now it was her job to figure it out. The fate of her friends rested heavily on it. She looked around slowly and called the name that had been hidden from her for so long.

"Lewis!" she shouted loudly. There was no response to her shrill voice. She was alone.


	3. Chapter 3: Broken

_Arthur was following behind Vivi and Lewis. He could hear them talking about some mystery novel, but the smiles they exchanged were so warm, so he didn't say anything. He noticed them get a little ahead of him, so he tried to speed up. They seemed to get farther and farther away from him. Arthur tried to keep his calm, but every step he took made him fall more and more behind. He threw out his hand._

_ "__You guys!" She shouted, "Wait up! I can't keep up with you." They didn't even look back. Arthur watched them as a glow seemed to eclipse them and the world around them fall into darkness. He ran and ran as fast as he could, trying desperately to catch up._

_ "__They don't need you…" And eerie voice whispered in his ear. Arthur looked around for who the voice belonged to, but didn't see anyone._

_ "__Who's there?!" He asked, his voice shaking._

_ "__They only need each other Arthur," the voice came again._

_ "__No!" Arthur shouted, "I'm their friend! They need me just like I need them!"_

_ "__They don't need you Arthur," The voice continued. "They know how weak you are. They don't need you at all. You need them. You know why Arthur? Because without them you are nothing." The voice started to echo. Arthur looked around frantically, and saw the light of his friends vanishing far away in the distance._

_ "__They said they were my friends!" Arthur shouted._

_ "__And why would you believe them?" The voice asked, "You were just a bridge for them. They met because of you, and now they don't need you anymore. You have no purpose."_

_ "__Shut up!" Arthur screamed._

_ "__You're nothing without them," It said again, this time louder. Its voice echoes all around him, steadily getting louder as it repeated the same word. "Nothing…" Arthur covered his ears and tried to tune it all out._

_ "__What do you know?!" He shouted back, he voice barely audible, "You don't know anything!"_

_The voice stopped._

_Arthur looked around for something, anything, when he saw a faint light in the distance. It must be them! He ran it as fast as he could, but soon realized that it was a rectangle, an empty frame._

_ "__I would know everything," the voice said in a low voice._

_ "__Who the hell are you?!" Arthur shouted as he turned his back to the frame and stepped back slowly. "You're nothing! You're just a nobody!" Suddenly, Arthur heard a low, dark laugh erupt from behind him. Arthur turned around slowly to see that the rectangular frame was actually a mirror. He stared back into his own trembling eyes. He noticed that the mirror image had a flesh left arm, but it was a nasty, puke green. He left eye turned black with a white iris, and the reflection smiled._

_ "__You're exactly right," His reflection said darkly. "I am just a nobody. I'm worthless scum."_

Arthur sat straight up and let out a long scream. He felt his right arm and legs get held back by restraints, and automatically pulled against them. A loud beeping sound erupted from close beside him, and he heard a few doors come open. He looked to see some men and women dressed in white rush to him, one holding a large needle. Arthur's face paled, when a blue figure slid in between him and them.

"Stop!" Vivi shouted loudly, throwing her hands to her sides. "He just woke up from a nightmare! Leave him alone!" Arthur's frame was shaking tremendously, but the sight of Vivi right there made him calm down. Vivi walked up to him slowly and put her arms around him. "Shhh… Arthur… It's okay… I'm here now…" Vivi's gentle voice made him feel safe once again. He wrapped his flesh arm around her shoulder, realizing a little too late that the metallic one was off. She didn't seem to care, and she hugged him tightly. It felt like a thousand bricks were lifted off of his shoulders, but this came to an end when the doctor came up.

"Son, would you mind to tell me what had happened?" He asked calmly, writing some notes down on his notepad. Arthur looked over nervously at Vivi, then to the doctor. He couldn't tell them the truth, especially not Vivi.

"My van broke down outside of the forest," Arthur said slowly, "I decided to walk the rest of the way to Vivi's house, but I lost my footing and fell down one of the steeper inclines. I realized I had hurt myself pretty badly when I first stood up, but I forced myself to Vivi's house anyway. I knew she would be able to get me help." She had always been there to help him when he needed it the most. Vivi sighed in relief, and Arthur looked at her curiously. Had she come to a different conclusion? What was she thinking?

"My My…" the doctor said slowly, shaking his head, "You are actually very lucky young man. When you fell, you knocked the bearings loose, but because you received care so fast, you only suffered some minor damage. Once you got here, we were able to help you immediately. You then proceeded to sleep for an entire day." The doctor let out a short chuckle. "My guess is that you don't use medicine often. Our simple medications seemed to overpower you."

"So basically," Vivi said softly, "Just a child's dose would have been enough." Vivi smiled softly and gently hugged his arm. She then sighed softly. "You spent one day in surgery, and nearly a whole day sleeping. What is your next great endeavor Arthur?" Her words seemed to hit him hard, and took a minute for all of it to sink in. Once the sun set tonight, he only had one more day before Lewis was going to come and finish off the job. Just like that, he was as closer to death now then ever before.

"Also," The doctor interjected, "You're not allowed to put back on the metal arm for a few weeks. The nerves need a chance to heal. I'm sure you can handle yourself." Great. He was going to be literally disarmed. You might as well serve him on a silver platter to Lewis.

Vivi had to bite her tongue as she waiting for the doctors to examine Arthur. She wanted to ask him so many questions. Did he remember Lewis? Did he know Lewis was the ghost? Why was he chasing Arthur in the mansion? Why hadn't he mentioned him before? Above all these, another darker question bounced off the inside of her head. What happened to him? All of these had to wait, since her friend was in a vulnerable state. The doctors said that the shock from all the blood loss could have a permanent effect if he wasn't treated properly. The wanted more than anything to solve this mystery and find a way to put Lewis to rest once and for all, but the living was supposed to be more important than the dead.

But at the same time, her heart ached badly. Something felt completely at loss. She could do nothing but wait as the doctors reexamined Arthur multiple times. It was almost midnight before they finally let him go. Since Arthur was minus one arm, Vivi had to take him home in her little car.

They were both silent.

Arthur was a little zoned out because of the pain killers in his system, and Vivi was afraid that if she spoke, it would turn into an interrogation. She felt anxious. When they finally arrived at his house, Arthur insisted that he would be fine making it up to his room alone.

"But Arthur, I don't want you tripping and falling," She said softly, pleading with him with sweet eyes.

"I'll be fine Vivi," He said slowly, and smiled softly. "Please just let me rest for tonight." Vivi almost felt hurt by his words, but she managed to smile and changed the subject.

"Too bad we missed out on that ghost hunt," She said softly, "I was so sure you were actually going to like this one." Arthur smiled faintly at her, she thought from the medicine going through his veins.

"We'll make up for it somehow," Arthur said softly. He reached into his pocket and found his house key, then looked over to Vivi and waved at her. "I'm going to bed Vivi, so you go home and rest too. You look like you haven't slept in days." Vivi faked a smile, one the drowsy Arthur didn't noticed, and waved as her friend went inside and let Mystery in before closing it firmly. Vivi pulled out the locket and examined it once again, softly feeling the cracks and sighing softly. Why were they both being so difficult this time?

_The cave split in front of him, one path going down, and the other path going up. Vivi curiously followed the lower path, with Mystery following right behind her. He walked up the higher path, gently clinging to the shoulders of someone a foot taller than him and twice as strong. He knew who this was. His best friend and protector, Lewis, was leading the way while holding onto a torch. He always admired how brave he was, letting his curiosity lead the way for him. They followed the path up until it formed into a ledge, and peered out over a massive pile of spikes. Arthur was shaking as Lewis shook him off of his shoulders and moved closer, peering over the ledge by himself._

_That's when the pain started to hit, starting in his left arm, and a harsh voice seemed to come into his head._

_"__He's dating the girl of your dreams," It said slowly, every word piercing through his heart, "And now he's on the side of a ledge. What ever should you do?" The pain spread up his arm, and the vision from his left eye vanished. He felt his body come forward, her left arm raising into the air. He tried to shout to Lewis to look out, but his hand pushed him harshly. Lewis screamed and outstretched his arm as he fell straight down. The spikes were right behind him, getting closer. Arthur started to cry. "See? That wasn't so hard."_

Arthur sat up straight in bed, crying and screaming at the top of his lungs. Mystery jumped from where he was laying, in a panic, but when he realized what was going on, he jumped back up and snuggled against Arthur's chest. Arthur grabbed onto the dog and cried loudly, the last few moments playing in his head. All he could see was Lewis falling, and he could hear the voice repeat its last line over and over again.

It took Arthur almost an hour to finally stop his sobbing. Mystery leaned up and gently licked at his face, getting rid of the few remaining tears on his face. He let out a long sigh and laid his head against Mystery.

"I didn't see him hit…but I didn't need to…" He said slowly. He knew Mystery wasn't going to answer him, but it felt good knowing the dog would listen. "As soon as that happened, I remember you jumping at me and biting my arm, and everything went black. When I woke up, I was in the hospital, missing an arm. Vivi was crying over me too… She had no memories of Lewis… No one did… Not my parents or hers, and he didn't have any family. It seems like you and I… We're the only ones who know what happened… I don't know how to tell her though… How could I ever tell her…? She doesn't know…but if she did, she would be so depressed… I don't know if she could ever get through it… Her best friend…murdered her boyfriend…" Arthur heaved loudly, trying to keep himself from crying all over again.

Mystery whined loudly and softly bit Arthur's good hand. Arthur sighed softly and crawled out of bed. He found some clothes from his drawers and threw them on. He realized rather quickly that almost all of his clothes were the same. He then grabbed his watch from the nearby table. He'd almost forgotten about it, since it was so odd to wear it on his right arm. He set the alarm on it and, with much difficulty, managed to put it around his wrist. Shrugging gently, he found a Mystery's leash and called the dog to him. He had one day to live his life, so now was the time to start thinking of how to do it. Arthur's mind began to wander as Mystery pulled him along the road. What was he supposed to do? Vivi would be upset, but he knew he couldn't tell her beforehand. He recalled how she threw herself in between him and the attacking Lewis. If Lewis hadn't stopped short…

After walking Mystery, he returned to his house. Arthur left the pictures on the floor, and slowly walked back into his kitchen. Much, much work had to be done. He couldn't risk Vivi coming over and seeing this mess. She would ask him questions, questions he wasn't ready to answer. Not to her anyway. Arthur upturned the dining room table, slowly placed possessions back into drawers, and pulled the pictures out of their busted frames. If he had been wearing his mechanical arm, this would've taken only half the time.

Several hours passed before his house was straightened up. He placed all of the old pictures into an album, momentarily protection them. Now exhausted, Arthur walked into his bedroom and laid face down in the pillow, his joints stiff from all the extra work he had to put in. He heard Mystery jump up beside him and bark softly. Arthur tucked his arm around the furry little dog and smiled softly. Mystery was the only one who knew his dark secret, and having him right there beside him, somehow, made Arthur feel better. If only a little better.

He heard a loud whine as Mystery pawed at his leg. This dog was incredibly smart. He always knew when his thoughts were getting the best of him. Arthur leaned down and gently petted the dog, who in turn licked her arm. An idea seemed to click inside his head. "That's it…" He muttered softly, and got back up. Mystery rushed to keep up with him as he went straight through the house to his workshop in the back room. He slipped into his chair and pulled together some equipment. "If I've only got today left, then I've got to make the most of it. Vivi has been wanting a Ghost Detector for when she goes exploring, and now I have the motivation to make it."

He knew in the past that if he built this for her, it would prompt her to go on even more ghost hunts. That didn't truly matter anymore, since his fate was sealed anyway. Arthur messed with countless wires, bolts, and scrap pieces for a couple of hours. Finally, it was finished. Looking at the new, glistening machine in his hands. He turned it on and tested it out by waving it over Mystery. As he expected, the lights flashed and a small siren blared. "I knew you were a special kind of dog Mystery. No normal dog would've been able to stop me back then…but this is proof." He laughed slowly at Mystery's dog pout, but soon his expression became serious.

It's time to see Vivi.

A short ride in the van passed, though it was difficult to do with one arm, but soon he was knocking on Vivi's door. He heard footsteps scramble from the other side and the blue haired girl opened the door. Her hair was a little messy, her headband missing from its place and her glassed hanging crookedly on her nose. She was wearing her blue skirt a little too high, and her shirt was slightly tucked into it, and her socks were uneven. She only had one shoe on as well. He also noticed that she had a toothbrush hanging out of her mouth. "It's not like you to be up late." He tried to stifle a laugh, but he couldn't help it. This was a rare sight indeed. His best friend was always the first to wake and the first to be ready. Usually when he came over, she had breakfast or even lunch ready for him as well. Now, it was the opposite. He was awake and ready, and she was trying to catch up. He'd never seen this side of her before.

Lewis had though.

Arthur's stomach seemed to drop, but he pushed through it and offered Vivi the little device.

"Is that what I think it is?" She asked through a muffled voice. It seemed like she was about to drop the toothbrush altogether. Arthur could feel his heart warm up a little. Vivi's presence always seemed to put him at ease, if only for a moment. He gave her the device and she played around with it. Her eyes started to shin with wonder, but Arthur decided to beat her to the punch.

"Let's go ghost hunting today!" He said happily, catching Vivi by surprise. This time, she did drop her toothbrush. Her mouth gaped open, a little tooth paste in her mouth. She blushed when she realized what had happened, and she ran to the bathroom to spit. When she came back, she had straightened her outfit and put in her headband. Her all blue attire someone made her hair and eyes stand out a little more. She walked up to him and placed her hand on his forehead.

"Are you sick?" She felt his cheeks and raised an eyebrow. "You seem a little pail, but you don't have a fever… Since when do YOU want to go on a ghost hunt?" Her bewilderment was expected, but somehow seeing it on her face made him laugh. Vivi tried to regain her composure, but Arthur took the opportunity.

"Last night, after I got home," He began quickly, trying to be sure that she wouldn't be able to stop him. "I decided to kick it into high gear and make the Spector Seeker a little ahead of schedule. I knew you'd want to go ghost hunting, so I just beat you to the punch." He smiled warmly at her, as that familiar sparkle seemed to enter her eyes. She was ready for an adventure. This was the best he could do for her for now, give her one last happy memory before his days were up. "Is there anywhere you want to go?" He looked over at Vivi and managed a sweet smile.

"Well… There's supposed to be a haunted place nearby with a lake," Vivi said slowly, trying to hide the fact that she had already researched it. Arthur was acting weird, and she didn't want to give him a chance at running away. Arthur could tell by her voice, but he didn't read too far into it. "I've heard that it's been haunted by a ghost. I'm sure it's just another fake like what we usually encounter, but now I've got a real Spector Detector to help prove it faster!" She half squealed the last little bit. She squeezed the device in her hands. She looked at me with hopeful eyes and asked sheepishly. "Can I drive us this time?" Now that he thought about it, Arthur had never once let her drive the van. It was because she never asked when… Arthur had to stop his thoughts, before he made himself depressed again. Arthur smiled softly at her, barely managing to keep it together.

"Sure thing, just go easy on the clutch," He said slowly as he handed her the keys, "It's been sticking you know." Vivi let out the happiest squeal and hugged him tightly.

"I'm not sure what's gotten into you today, but I like it!" She half squealed as she dashed off happily towards the van. She didn't like it. She felt bad for lying to him, but if let him figure out that she knew about Lewis, then he would shut off completely. He was hiding something after all, and she knew it was really bad. Arthur felt Mystery paw at him softly, and he looked down at the small dog. He seemed to have a saddened expression.

"Mystery…" He pet the dog softly and smiled softly, "Don't give me that look. Today is a happy occasion. Let's enjoy this." Mystery let out a soft whine, but he seemed to accept what Arthur was saying. Arthur then went outside and jumped into the backseat. "You know what you're doing, right Vivi?" She looked back at him with a nervous smile.

"Of course I do… I just can't believe you let me behind the wheel," Vivi commented happily. She put the keys in the ignition and brought the van to life. He laid down in the back, feeling tired almost instantly.

"You know… I might just take a nap along the way." Arthur said through a few yawns. "Wake me up when we get there V…" Arthur turned his head over and tried to sleep, but every time he closed his eyes, he imagined himself from in the cave. The cold, heartless person who shoved his best friend over a cliff to die.

They made it to the campsite in an hour, just before noon. They worked together to pitch the tents and build a fire. This day was filled with lots of laughter. Arthur and Vivi shared memories for hours, Vivi laughing so hard at one point that she began to cry. Arthur couldn't help but smile when she did. She warmed his heart and gave him hope. That's all he wanted, but he hoped that every last moment with her was going to be a good one. Soon, it became nightfall, and Arthur looked at his watch. 9 P.M. The stars were out, and the air was crisp and cool.

Vivi offered out a hand to Arthur, helping him to his feet. Since the surgery, he wasn't allowed to put back on the metallic arm. Instead, he had to compromise and work without it. Vivi was happy to help him, and once they were prepared, Vivi lead him down a well beaten path. They walked for thirty minutes before Vivi turned to him.

"Do you know about this place?" She asked suddenly, raising an eyebrow.

"You said it was some sort of haunted lake?" I asked, not entirely sure where it was anyway.

"Well, it's true there is a lake nearby," She said softly, "But that's not the haunted part. Actually, we're going to go explore a cave today." Arthur's heart sank. He looked pass Vivi and saw the one place he had only envisioned in nightmares. The cave had an eerie green glow coming from it, and a sign held a skull and cross bones on it. Arthur was bewildered by the sight, but Vivi seemed excited. This was for her after all. She took his flesh arm and slowly pulled him into the entrance, and they followed a series of paths. He knew where they were going to end up, but there was nothing he could do about it.

"This place feels evil…" Arthur said bitterly. This was the last place he wanted to be, the last place on earth he wanted to go with Vivi. He looked over at Vivi, who was paying attention to the small device in her hand. She looked up and met Arthur's eyes.

"Is there something wrong Arthur?" she asked suddenly. Arthur felt daggers stab into his heart as he tried his best to smile.

"Nothing's wrong Vivi," He whispered gently. He sounded hallow, and he knew his friend could hear it.

"Is there something you want to tell me Arthur?" Vivi asked. Arthur looked at her and clenched his fist gently. He didn't want to tell her. He didn't want her last memory of him to be so horrible. He wanted her to be happy, but she was pressing him so hard. Vivi was trying to hide her frustration from him. She knew he was hiding something, but she didn't want to ask him directly. She knew he'd run away. Arthur always ran away when he was scared, and he was obviously scared of telling her.

"I don't have anything," Arthur said softly. Vivi wanted to punch him, but she resisted it with all her might. How would she be able to approach the subject when he still thought she didn't remember? Just then, Vivi looked ahead at their path and froze.

The tunnels parted ways.

"I'll go left," Arthur said quickly, and almost ran up the long path. He came out across a ledge and stood there, not daring to look down.

"Arthur!" He heard her voice shout, echoing off the walls, "Just tell me the truth! I can handle it Arthur! Please! I just want to know!" He took a deep breath, waiting to hear Vivi scream down below, but the nerves were overwhelming him. He couldn't take another second of it.

"I-I killed Lewis!" He shouted loudly, his voice echoing off the walls. He knew she would hear it somehow. "I know you don't remember him Vivi, but he was an amazing guy! You two were going out before we came her the first time! He loved you Vivi! He loved you and I was jealous! I was also scared that you'd leave me behind! I knew I was nothing without the two of you! I knew! I was just so scared Vivi!"

"We never would've left you behind!" he heard her shout. Arthur's heart pounded in his chest, aching deeply.

"But I wasn't so scared that I wanted him dead! I wasn't! There was something evil in the cave Vivi! It took all my bottled up emotions and made me push him! I was saved by Mystery ripping off my arm!" Arthur heaved loudly, deep sobs starting to cloud his voice. "Even though that happened, it's my fault! I bottled up everything! I kept all my feelings from you guys! You were my friends! You were the ones I should've trusted! It's all my fault that Lewis is a ghost and can't move on! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

"Arthur!" He heard her shout echo from down below, "Quit saying that! It's not your fault! You didn't kill Lewis!" Arthur smiled bitterly.

"He's going to kill me when today is over Vivi," Arthur said softly, barely above a whisper. "He deserves to get revenge, and I'm not going to stop him. If there's one last thing I can do, it's to be killed by him and let him move on." Arthur hung his head as an alarm sounded on his watch. He looked at the time and saw that it was midnight. As if on cue, he felt an intense heat come from behind him. He turned around to see the skeleton standing right in front of him. It stared at him from under its hair, as if it was scowling. Arthur smiled faintly and put his hand up in the air. "Do your worse."

Just then, the ledge cracked underneath him and he fell.

"ARTHUR!"


	4. Chapter 4: Consequences

Arthur had his eyes closed, waiting for the moment the spikes were going to pierce through his flesh, but that moment never came. He seemed to just hang there in space. Arthur then slowly opened his eyes. The spikes were still there, but he wasn't falling towards them. In fact, he wasn't falling at all. Uneasily, Arthur slowly looked up to see that his arm was being held above his head. He followed it from his shoulder until he stared straight into two purple eyes. Arthur tensed a little, but then he felt his body being pulled up by tremendous force. He watched as he was pulled back over the edge and placed gently on his feet.

Lewis had saved him.

He looked up at the skeleton and saw that his eyes were gentle, almost sad, and he seemed to be slouching. Arthur didn't know what to say, but Lewis figured it out first. "I'm sorry…" He said slowly. "I was so blinded by rage…that I came after you without demanding an explanation. I should have expected that you wouldn't have done that to me, but I was so foolish… I'm so sorry Arthur." The words seemed to echo off the walls for a moment, then Arthur leaned back and let out a long sob.

"Don't apologize to me!" He shouted loudly, "This is all my fault! I'm the one who killed you! It was all my fault! I'm so sorry!" Arthur used his one good hand to wipe away the tears. When he outright cried like this, he resembled a young child. Lewis stared at him for a few minutes, before punching his shoulder sharply.

"Don't cry anymore!" He said harshly, "You're a man! Men don't cry like little girls! Besides! I tried to kill you! So no we're even!" No matter what he said or how light hearted he tried to make it sound, Arthur continued to cry. Lewis started to speak, when he was interrupted.

"BOTH OF YOU IDIOTS LISTEN TO ME FOR ONCE!" Vivi shouted sternly, silencing even Arthur's loud sobs. She gestured for them to follow her, and they silently followed her back down the tunnel and down the right path she had taken before. They came out to the bottom of the cavern, where all the spikes were facing the sky. Arthur cringed, expecting to see a dead body on one of the spikes, but he was stunned at what he actually found. So was Lewis.

Lewis body was hovering just over the spike, seemingly frozen in the last few seconds before his death. His mouth and eyes were still wide, and he had his arm outstretched.

"I don't…know what to say…" Lewis said slowly, being the most shocked out of the three of them.

"It's about time I explained things to you," a strange new voice piped up from behind. The three teens were frozen, and they slowly turned around to see Mystery staring back at him. Mystery was different though. He was no longer the cute, little furry dog they had all known and loved, but was now a fully grown fox. He was very large for his breed, and he had nine long tails instead of one. They could tell it was Mystery simply by the red fur and the glasses.

"Did…Mystery just talk…?" Lewis asked slowly. Of course it was the floating skeleton that questioned the concept of a talking dog. Mystery cleared his throat and stood up tall.

"I am a nine tailed fox. My job is to make sure that death occurs when it is meant to happen, instead of where demons would have it fall. What happened here would have been a tragedy. Arthur would have gone mad from the guilt, Vivi would have mourned to death, and Lewis, you were already dead. However, since this event was triggered by a demon, I can make an exchange. That is why your body has been frozen Lewis."

"So wait… Lewis isn't dead?" Vivi asked gently. The fox licked his paws for a moment, then went right back to explaining.

"Now, an exchange is hard to do, so before it is done, you must complete a vigorous test. I changed the scenario a little to see how you would react. I brought Lewis into a spiritual form, and allowed him to believe he was a ghost. From there, I let fate take hold. Lewis spared Vivi's feelings by erasing her memory. Then, Lewis sought revenge on his killer. Now, had events played out and Arthur would've died, then nothing would have changed for anyone." I stunned silence seemed to fill the room, but Lewis found his voice again.

"But…But I didn't…" Mystery interrupted him.

However, because Lewis saved Arthur's life instead, I can grant you the exchange. You may place someone else's life as a sacrifice to save Lewis. Choose wisely." With that, the little fox stood up tall and waited patiently.

"How are we supposed to choose who dies?!" Lewis shouted angrily, "It'll be bad no matter who it is!"

"And I can't kill a stranger either!" Vivi squeaked softly. They both looked to Arthur, who had fallen deathly silent. Arthur was supposed to panic and scream as he normally did, but he had an eerie calm across his face.

"I know who should die," He said quietly. Vivi and Lewis looked shocked, but Mystery perked up his ears.

"Then tell me who you have in mind," The sly fox said slowly. Arthur looked around the room for a moment silently, searching quietly for something, but then he came up to Mystery with a severed arm.

"Kill the demon that possessed me," He said softly. The room fell into silence. Mystery stared down at the arm, his teeth clenched together tightly, but Arthur didn't back down. For the first time in his life, Arthur wasn't afraid. He meant what he'd said. Finally, Mystery smiled.

"You have made the right choice." Mystery assured him as he took the arm from Arthur. The cave suddenly flooded with light, so much so that Arthur and Vivi had to shield their eyes.

Then it was over.

Arthur blinked to get rid of the spots in his eyes. He was lying on his back, with his right arm outstretched. Tiredly, he rolled over and threw his arm around Mystery, the little dog once again curled against him chest. He started to doze off again, when he realized something was different. He wasn't laying down on a hard, rocky floor, but instead on a cushioned seat. He sat up straight and immediately smacked his head against the ceiling. It took a little more time to realize that he was in the van. He leaned over the seat to see Vivi sleeping in the front passenger seat, strapped in safely. He then looked into the driver's seat to see Lewis sleeping with his face against the steering wheel. He couldn't help but shout at the top of his lungs. As soon as they both woke up, they joined his happy shouts.

"Arthur you did it!" Lewis shouted as he turned and grabbed the blonde. Lewis was back to his original self, with skin and blood covering his bones. Vivi squealed happily and kissed Arthur's cheek.

"You had me so scared!" She shouted gleefully, "But you did it! Now everyone's okay!" Arthur smiled happily. Vivi's face hardened suddenly, and she bit her bottom lip. "Mostly okay…" Arthur followed her gaze and found the bandaged up stump where his left arm was supposed to be. Lewis looked away, a little disheartened, but Arthur broke the silence.

"Who cares?!" He shouted loudly, "I'm ambidextrous anyway!" With that, both of his friends hugged him and smiled.

Arthur was more exhausted then he let on. The moment he laid his head back down, he fell asleep. Vivi looked at Mystery, who seemed to smile and panted gently. He wasn't going to talk anymore, but that didn't matter. She felt blessed having that crazy little dog in her life. Lewis seemed more filled with life now than he had ever been before. Vivi had called her mother, and was told a strange story about the events that took place in the cave a while back.

Arthur and Lewis had went off, and Arthur had joined Lewis on the edge. The both looked over, but Arthur somehow lost his footing and fell. He lucked out though, since only his left arm was hurt. He apparently had fallen on his side mid-fall, and his arm was pierced through. He hung off the stalagmite by his arm for almost an hour while Lewis had tried to hold him up. When the medical personal came, his arm was a lost cause, so they cut his arm off to try and save him from blood loss. It worked. That was the story everyone else knew, aside from the three teens are their unique little dog.

Back in the van, Vivi and Lewis were left to talk alone, with Arthur sleeping too heavily to be awakened by small talk.

"Lewis…" Vivi said softly as she leaned over and took his hand. She missed the heat that seemed to radiate from his body. Lewis looked down at her and smiled handsomely. It felt like a dream.

"Yes Vivi?" he responded softly. Vivi looked to the side, debating for a moment, then met his gaze.

"I want to go back to the cave one last time," She said softly. "I want to make sure that thing…that demon is gone." Lewis looked worried for a moment, but deep down he knew she was right. He drove the van and parked it outside.

"Mystery, think you can take care of him while we're gone?" Lewis asked the little dog. He barked loudly in response and bobbed his head. "Good. We should be back in a few."

Lewis and Vivi went back into the cave one last time. They expected to it to be foggy and cold, but the cave was empty. It was even missing its eerie green glow. Lewis led Vivi down the right path. It was finally time to see the end of this mystery.

There it was.

Stuck on a stalagmite was Arthur's old arm, pierced straight down the middle. The flesh was completely gone, and the bones were cracked, but held together. It looked like Arthur had fallen off of the peak, and managed to only pierce his arm. From a distance, that's all it looked like, but up close, they saw that the bones were a deep green color. The demon was dead.

They returned to the van to find Arthur still sleeping in the back seat, with Mystery sleeping on his chest. Lewis pinched his arm softly, making sure he wasn't dreaming, then took the chance to pull Vivi into his arms and kissed her. Vivi didn't resist him, but she did blush. She knew now how much this man meant to her. Even when he was a ghost, she still felt her heart beat towards his. They got into the van and started driving home, unsure of what awaited them next. Vivi leaned over the backseat and peeked at Arthur, and spoke very gently.

"I haven't seen him sleep that peacefully in ages," She whispered into Lewis's ear, "What do you think he's dreaming about?" Lewis glanced over his shoulder and smiled softly.

"I don't know, but I'm kind of envious." Lewis said softly, "I couldn't sleep at all when I was a ghost, so I missed out on a lot of dreams." He looked over to Vivi and smiled gently. "But…I'm sure my dreams never would've been as good as this." Vivi hushed him softly.

"Don't be too loud," she whispered softly, "I want him to sleep."

_Arthur sobbed uncontrollably from inside the locker, shaking furiously from fright. He was scared of being stuck there for so long, and he was sure that he was going to die. Arthur tried to search his pockets for his phone, but had no luck. All he could do was bang against the door for hours until his hands were sore. He felt miserable and alone, but that was his fault. He's the one who chased his friends away. Lewis would have protected him if Arthur hadn't gotten so hot headed. Now, Arthur was alone. He started to doze off, when he heard a loud shout from outside._

_"__What are you doing!? Put me down!" Arthur recognized it as the voice of the bully from earlier, but he had never heard it so distressed._

_"__What did you do with Arthur?!" A very menacing voice asked, one Arthur had never heard before. At the sound of his name though, Arthur mustered up enough strength to bang on the locker door a few more times. The voices grew silent from outside. Arthur slowly leaned forward and pressed his fingers through the holes in the locker, and mustered enough strength to speak._

_"__Please help me…." He whimpered gently. There was a loud crash from outside of the locker, which made Arthur tremble, but soon he heard a familiar voice shout._

_"__Stop it Lewis! You'll kill the guy! Leave him alone! We'll let the cops deal with him!" It was Vivi. Her voice came through like an angel's. Arthur felt his heart ease up a little as footsteps sounded outside of the locker. He heard a click, and the locker door came open slowly. Arthur used his hand to block the bright light, but he immediately felt a set of strong arms pull him out. Lewis laid him down on the bench across the room, then backed up to give him space to breathe. He stared down at him for a very long time._

_"__How long…?" Lewis asked softly. Arthur was kind of dazed, so his answer sounded lazy._

_"__Maybe a couple of hours…?" He responded, though it sounded more like a question._

_"__HOW LONG HAVE THEY BEEN BULLYING YOU?!" Lewis shouted. Arthur winched a little, but it didn't have the same effect right now._

_"__Since…The beginning of the school year…." Arthur said softly. Lewis shook his head and punched a nearby locker._

_"__I should've know!" He shouted, more at himself than at Arthur. "I saw you running on my first day! I saw that terrified look in your eyes! But I didn't react! All I did was let you suffer!" He sat down on the floor and covered his face with his hands. "Every time I saw you, you were more covered up and seemed to move a little slower. Why didn't I realize it sooner? I didn't want to cause you any grief, so I avoided the subject with you, and started to avoid you altogether, but that made it worse! They came after you because they thought I wasn't your friend anymore today. They thought that I was going to let them hurt you like that!" Arthur turned his head towards the gentle giant and saw that he was crying._

_"__I never knew you were being bullied," Vivi said calmly._

_"__I wish we would've…" Lewis added solemnly._

_"__We heard those guys talking about how easy it was to beat someone up," Vivi chimed in gently, "When we couldn't reach your cell, Lewis went on a rampage and beat the living tar out of them. He dragged their ringleader back here to make him confess and release you. When he realized you'd been stuffed in a locker though, he went ballistic and knocked him completely out. We're just lucky he had the key in his front pocket." Vivi came over to Arthur and gently ran her fingers through his hair. "I'm sorry we took so long. We didn't notice that you were falling behind us. We were supposed to be there for you, and we failed. Can you ever forgive us?" Vivi was starting to tear up now. Arthur looked from the both of them, and slowly forced himself to sit up. Without saying a word, Arthur threw his arms around both of his friends._

_"__I'm the one who should be sorry!" Arthur bawled softly. Vivi looked at him and sighed softly._

_"__Don't cry Arthur," She said softly, "With your face, you look like such a kid."_

_"__But I have a goatee…" Arthur said, sniffing softly._

_"__There's no reason for you to say sorry Arthur," Lewis said gently. He was a little stiff being hugged, but he didn't try to fight it either. "Come on, act like a man and stop crying." Arthur hiccupped softly and shook his head._

_"__I'm so sorry," Arthur said again, as he lowered his head. Both of his friends suddenly started squeezing him from both sides._

_"__Didn't I just say not to cry?" Vivi asked in her normal sarcastic voice._

_"__Didn't I just say you had no reason to apologize?" Lewis said sharply. He sighed loudly and looked to the side. "Look, we're not ever going to leave you behind again."_

_"__We're not," Vivi added insistently, "We're friends after all, and I couldn't be without either of you!" Arthur's heart seemed to dance a little, and he closed his eyes softly._

_"__I love you guys so much," Arthur murmured softly. He truly felt he was the luckiest person in the world to have friends like these._

~A Word From the Author~

Hey everyone! I've been debating on whether or not to write an alternate fanfic, one where I don't make it where Lewis is actually alive, but things could work out in the end anyway. Does that interest anyone? I know it will have a different outcome anyway, so no promises. My head is pounding with ideas, so this next one will take a while. I'm going to do some research and see if I'm the first one to consider this idea or not. I don't like stealing after all! Thanks again for reading.


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